Return to Mist Village
by Alien26
Summary: Naruto's cell return to Kirigakure village where the Sound ninja are operating. But what's in store for them, Naruto may not handle. crossover with FullMetal Alchemist and SakuraxEdward in later chapters. chapter 9 UP!
1. Chapter 1

My first fanfic! yay! I hope u enjoy!

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of the books (Waah!).

Chapter 1: A Trap

It was midmorning when Kakashi found Naruto lying on the ground, sleeping. Once again, the young chuunin wore himself out while training, testing his new ninja skills and pushing them beyond the limit. How Naruto found the time (and chakras) to do all this was entirely beyond Kakashi. Of course, he had to do some vigorous training himself when he was a chuunin, but not until he wore himself out in the process.

"Naruto, I think you should wake up," he finally said, "unless you want to die of the cold."

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, and began to sit up, wiping the drool off his mouth. "Wh-what?"

"You need to get up because the Hokage has just assigned you and your teammates a mission," Kakashi explained. "I don't have details yet, but—"

Naruto suddenly shot up to his feet. "A mission! Really! Thanks, Kakashi-sensei! You're my man!" Then he jumped up to Kakashi, choking him in one of his big hugs.

"Get off! You're going to kill me!"

"Oh, sorry." Naruto released him. The masked ninja continued.

"Anyways (cough), you, Sasuke, and Sakura need to go to the Mist village again. Something is up and since you three have been there before, you've been chosen. So, think you're up to the challenge?"

"What do you mean 'do you think I am'!" Naruto shouted, "Hell yeah! When do we go! Now! Huh! When!"

"Calm down. I know you're excited about this, but first you should meet up with your team at the Hokage's house to be briefed for the mission."

"Okay, gotta go!" The young blonde quickly turned around and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Naruto's skills are developing at an amazing rate,_ the Kakashi thought, smiling. _I'd only be half surprised if he really did become the village champion._ The Jounin turned the opposite way pulling out his "adult" book, when he heard a string go taut. Suddenly, a net shot up from the ground beneath him and soared up to the branch of a tree. Scrambling, he grabbed hold of a kunai knife and sliced at the rope. To his surprise, the knife was cut in two instead. He noted dozens of talisman tags, scattered all around the trap, preventing him from casting any spell or illusion. Kakashi realized that whoever set this trap must have been a high ranking Jounin. Otherwise, he would have noticed the trap.

"Damn," he muttered. "I've got to find a way out of here."

"There is no way out," a voice said from the trees.

"Who are you! Show yourself!" Kakashi demanded.

A man cloaked in a tunic appeared mysteriously from the shadows of the forest. He withdrew the cloak, revealing one red eye and a scarred headband.

_A Sharingan eye!_ Kakashi realized. _And that headband! That means he's—_

"Yes," the man answered. "I am Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi."


	2. Chapter 2

I'm SOOO sorry I didn't update. PLZ FORGIVE ME!...I had a problem with my account. Here's ch. 2, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-9 (Waah!).

Chapter II: Briefings

_The Hokage's house seems real plain,_ Naruto thought. _The only things worth mentioning are that sliding door with the crane and the tea table._ Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were waiting for the fifth Hokage to appear and brief them. Naruto had shown up early, wearing black pants and a dark green wind breaker. Sasuke had a dark red sweater with his clan's crest on the back and navy blue shorts. Sakura was wearing a blue yellow striped kimono with violet flowers on it (which Naruto ogled at for three minutes before Sakura smacked Naruto on the head. "It's for Sasuke, you baka!" she fiercely whispered.) Silence filled the room. A sparrow in the distance chirped in the trees. At last, the village champion opened the door and sat down at her new birch desk.

"So, you three have been chosen to do this mission, since you've been to the mist village before.

"As for the mission, shinobi from both our village and Otogakure are involved in this. There are also rumors that the leaders of this attack are Orochimaru and Itachi."

Both name names struck Sasuke like a cannon. Shivers ran down his back. This was his chance to finally kill his older brother… But was he up to the challenge? And what would he do with Orochimaru, the same ninja who gave him that curse?

He resumed his attention to the Hokage, who was still briefing the team. Meanwhile, Naruto was doing his best to keep up…

"… So, any questions?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto snorted. "Now, when do we get to the ass-kicking part!"

_Typical of Naruto,_ Tsunade thought almost automatically. "Anyone else besides Naruto ("Hey!") have any questions?"

"I do." Everyone turned their heads towards Sasuke in disbelief. This was very surprising. Sasuke never asked any questions during a mission briefing! A face of determination slowly grew on his face. "Do you have any new information about Orochimaru?"

Silence filled the room. Tension was very thick.

"There are no new reports about on Orochimaru, except for rumors that he's deploying a large force of Sound ninja for this attack. Dismissed." Then, the Hokage calmly left the room, quietly shutting the sliding door behind him.

"Okay, people," Naruto suddenly shouted. "Let's all go home, pack up, and leave by tomorrow! Oh, yeah!"

"Naruto," Sakura said. "For once, sit still for one second. Honestly, you're always excited about a mission, over-train for it while having a lack of sleep, and overdo the mission. Could you please at least have proper rest this time? Was there ever a night in your life where you slept at least eight hours?"

Naruto fell silent. He stared blankly into the distance, thinking the matter over and over and over and over, etc.

"…….uhhhhh…..nope."

Sakura sighed deeply. "I didn't think so."

"Right. Now, if you'll stop jabberin', I got training to do! Later!" Before she got a word out, Naruto disappeared in a poof.

"What a moron." She turned to Sasuke, who was starting to walk off. "Um, Sasuke-kun?"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Could you come over to my house to do a little, um, training? I-I can keep up with you now, by the way. Please?" Sakura blushed at the statement.

"No. I need to be alone." Sasuke turned and headed back to his house. Sakura felt heartbroken. The Inner-Sakura was screaming "Get back here you ass!" Every time she asked him to do something, to say "Great job, Sasuke-kun!", or even say "ohayogozaimasu", Sasuke would ignore her, or just say "You're annoying". _It's just not fair,_ She thought. She eventually turned and trudged back home too.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-9 (Waah!).

Chapter III: Nightmares

Blood. There was blood splattered all across the floor. A man lied on his back, blood spilling from his mouth and from fresh cuts and slashes, absorbed by his kimono. Beside him was a beautiful woman, but her face was twisted in pain and horror. Her jet black hair was drenched in the crimson fluids. Her right arm was sliced off, blood pooling from the stump. The other hand still gripped a kunai knife. And in the middle of the bloodshed and slaughter was a boy. It was Sasuke, several years ago. Tears ran down his face. Sniffing, he wiped them away with his hand.

"I failed my family." He said. "I couldn't do…anything. And it was all because of you!" He pealed away at his skin, revealing Orochimaru's face behind it. "You can't kill your older brother. Your only choice is to join me!" Once again, he pealed away the face, this time Itachi's face showed. "You can't kill me, you weakling! You coward! You let me kill our parents because of your cowardice!"

It was at that moment that Sasuke woke up. His eyes were snapped wide open, cold sweat dripping all over his face. He took a minute to calm down before pulling his legs to his chest. He looked out his window, where the moon beamed down silver rays of light. The next thing he noticed was his kunai knife was in his right hand, gripped until his knuckles were white. Why did these dreams come back to him? He was doing fine a few days ago…

"Damn," he thought aloud. He decided to get some sleep. He lay back down and pulled up his sweat soaked sheets to his chest. The hand gripping the kunai loosened up a bit. Someday, Sasuke would kill his older brother. Someday, he would get revenge. But was it worth it? He paused, the question hanging there before slipping back into the world of nightmares…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-9 (Waah!).

Chapter IV: Many Greetings

The next morning, Naruto and his cell showed up at the usual place they met with Kakashi. But for some reason, Kakashi didn't show up at all. The three chuunins waited…and waited…and waited…until finally Naruto got really sick of waiting all the time.

"Okay, are we gonna just sit here and wait for Kakashi go get here, or are we gonna go to where were supposed to go! I mean we've been sitting here for hours and still that old fart hasn't shown up! We gotta take some action!"

"For once in my lifetime," Sasuke added, "I agree with Naruto. Let's just go."

"I mean think of what I feel like! I didn't have enough time to change into clean boxers!"

Sakura was disgusted. "Eww. Naruto, do me a favor and keep that kind of crap to yourself. Some of us don't have as steady a stomach as you do." A nauseous color crept up her face as she said that.

So they marched off out the gates of Konoha and into the forest where they happened to find a familiar short blonde kid and suit of armor walking by. Yes, it was none other than…

"EDWARD! What's goin' on! It's been a long time!"

"NARUTO! We've missed you, man!" Both boys ran to each other and slapped the other's hand a high-five. Little did Sasuke and Sakura know that Naruto and Edward (whoever he was to them) had met previously when they weren't around.

"Um, Naruto, who is this guy in the suit of armor and the short kid?" Sakura asked.

Ed snapped his head at the pink haired ninja. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME! I'M NOT SHORT! AND DON'T CALL ME LITTLE, OR MIDGET, OR SHRIMP!" A terrified Sakura swooned, stammering a barely audible "S-sorry," and Sasuke wiped off the spit on his face that was coming out of the young alchemist's mouth.

"Forgive my big brother," Alphonse said. "He can have a really short fuse sometimes."

"BIG brother?" Sakura questioned. "What do you mean big brother?"

Al just sighed. "Long story, short: we're the Elric brothers. I'm Alphonse and this is my older brother Edward."

"The Full-Metal Alchemist!" Naruto finished. "Isn't it cool!" Silence filled the scene. Even the crickets were quiet. "So anyways, what are you guys doing?"

"Well, we were just going to Konoha to find any research we need," Ed started, "but we ran into you guys, so we'll hang out, I guess."

"Sorry guys, but we're on a mission. I wouldn't want to worry about you getting hu--" Just at that moment, Sasuke yelled "Everyone, get down!" A barrage of kunai and shuriken were flung towards the group. Harmlessly they sailed by and hit the trees, as a dark shape flashed by. Alphonse suddenly received a slash on the front of his armor.

"Al!" Edward screamed, using his alchemy to change his arm into a wrist blade. There stood a black-clothed shinobi, a katana hanging on his shoulder. Four wavy lines were dented upon his headband, a notice to the ninja's prey that he was of Kirigakure origin. On his left side was a blue ice flake, a skull in the front with its eye sockets glowing whitish-blue.

"I am Jei,chuunin of the Ice shinobi of Kirigakure," the ninja spoke through his mask, "and I will kill you."


	5. Chapter 5

Note to all Usagi fans: I'm pretty sure you know where I got the name _Jei_ and the sword _Kusanagi_ from.

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly, I only own a copy of books 1-10 (Waah!).

Chapter 5: First Blood

The chuunin standing in front of our five heroes pulled out four fuma shuriken and flung them straight at Naruto. He dodged them easily… only to find them changing course.

_Damn it,_ he thought, trying to do all he could to avoid the spinning blades. _He's using his chakra to direct the shuriken where he wants._ The shuriken surrounded him, preventing the blond from helping his friends.

_One less to worry about,_ Jei thought, now turning to Sasuke. He charged at Sasuke, pulling out his sword from his scabbard. On the blade that met with the hand guard were the etched words _Kusanagi_- Grass Cutter. The mist-nin sliced, finding empty space. The raven-hair jumped behind Jei and now performed hand signs. Jei turned a second too late, and now faced a surge of flames. The shuriken flying around Naruto fell to the ground.

"Did you get him?" he asked, now staring at the fire. A slash mark four inches long was evident on his arm, blood slowly oozing out.

"Only one way to find out," Al said, walking towards the roaring bonfire. As the flames died down, they revealed a small, glimmering globe of ice. Al immediately jumped back. Too late. The mist chuunin crashed out of the ice, _Kusanagi_ in his hand, and decapitated the suit of armor with one swift movement.

"Who's next?" Jei swiveled his head towards Edward and Sakura, who had done nothing in the battle so far.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Jei turned around again and saw five Narutos charging at him. Jei chuckled. What Naruto didn't realize was that all his clones had low chakra while the original had the most. He lunged at the pack, slicing up the clones with his katana, and threw shuriken at the other chuunin. Two attached themselves to Naruto's abdomen, while three hit his arm. Naruto winced in pain, and looked up at the blade now soaring towards him. A sound of steel rang through the forest.

The young chuunin opened his eyes, and there was his alchemist ally, Edward, blocking _Kusanagi_ with his gauntlet arm.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist," the mist-nin hissed. "It's a pleasure meeting you for the first time."

"So, you know who I am," Ed snarled back. "You should also know I have a brother, right?" Jei's eyes snapped open and he jumped into the air as Al's steel fist slammed into the ground.

_Damn it, I forgot that his brother was the suit of armor,_ he thought, back flipping in the air. He slid his sword into the scabbard and started forming hand seals. Unfortunately, Sasuke attacked before he could finish. An all out taijutsu brawl broke out between the two, both combatants moved with lightning speed, appearing to be blurs to a normal person's eyes. Dodging, kicking, punching, blocking, and anything else they could do, they did. But to Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke was starting to lose this match of speed play. At the climax of the battle, the raven-haired was kicked into the air and pummeled with shuriken…then turned into a log.

At the spur of the moment, Jei threw a shuriken behind him, attaching to Sasuke's wrist. His hand's chakra flow was blocked, preventing him from powering up a chidori. Meanwhile, Jei, Alphonse, and Edward were locked into a two-on-one match. Naruto decided to join the battle once more, pulling out the shuriken in his body and using them against his opponent. Jei deflected the shuriken easily. He continued fighting until he saw the shuriken transform into Naruto clones. First blood from the mist-nin seeped from his mask.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: Gomen-nasai for being so late on my deadline. I had one hell of a week studying for next week's finals. This chapter will be longer than all the others I've posted so far (Yay!) and will be a bit Sakura centered. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-13 (Waah!).

Chapter 6: Midnight

A fire crackled in the pitch black of night. Flames dimly illuminated the various trees of the forest. A full moon was in the sky, casting light shadows on Team 7 and the Elric Brothers. Sakura sighed and turned her head to look at the little camp. Naruto was peacefully snoring in his sleeping bag, drooling and mumbling something about ramen. Small fits of steam escaped from his wounds, evidence of the Kyuubi fox healing them. Sasuke, meanwhile, was sitting on a log wrapping a strip of bandage on his wrist.

_Sasuke-kun probably hates me for what I did,_ she thought, looking down on the ground as she recalled the events of several hours ago…

_Jei's body collapsed, _Kusanagi_ clattering on the floor. Blood seeping from his mask dripped down his face. He opened his eyes and saw not Naruto, nor Sasuke, nor the Elric brothers, but Sakura charging him. She wasn't sure what drove her to do so, but something told her that she should aid in the battle; this was that time. She threw her kunai at the battered shinobi. Sakura smirked at her handiwork… but became worried when she saw Jei _smirk back_. The kunai knives made a thunking noise as it hit the tree where the mist-nin was just a split second before. She looked around, searching desperately to find him._

_"Over here, girl," Jei said. Sakura turned around and saw the mist-nin's sword coming down at her. She shut her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. She felt a hard shove to her side. The sickening sound of steel meeting flesh sounded clearly in her mind's eye. What happened? Did she get hit? She opened her eyes again and saw what made her gasp in fright. Sasuke, while moving her out of the way, was struck in his left wrist, pushing _Kusanagi_ out of the way. Blood flowed freely from his newly made slash. Al lunged once again, when his target disappeared with a gust of wind._

_As he disappeared, he said with an evil tone, "We will meet again, and next time I will kill one of you. But perhaps I'll start with the girl. Heh heh." He was gone._

_"_Damn_ that bastard Jei," Naruto growled._

_"Yeah, I know," Edward said, clapping his hands together. He put his left hand to his wrist and, with a flash of light, returned it to its original state. "Our goal was so close, and then it just slipped away. Damn it." He finished the sentence with a grimace as he walked to retrieve Al's head._

_Sakura looked to her crush and asked, "Sasuke-kun, daijobou?" Her emerald eyes grew full of worry as she motioned for him to give her his wrist to look at. Sasuke ripped his arm away from her. "Sasuke-kun?"_

_"Stupid, you let him get away," he said coldly. Sakura became rooted to the spot. A single tear threatened to fall from her eyes. She tried to choke it back as the raven haired walked away from her._

"Hey, you okay?" Sakura suddenly snapped from her thoughts as she turned to faced Edward.

"Anything wrong?" he repeated. She was a bit shocked at his statement. From the moment they had met, she thought he was just an annoying brat that swore a lot, kind of like how Naruto was. Yet here he was asking her with the utmost respect if anything was troubling her. As she looked into those lighting yellow eyes, she compared him with Sasuke, who always had a cold shoulder around her.

"I-it's nothing, Edward," she lied. _Oh great, now I'm starting to stutter like Hinata_, she thought. It was then that her eyes traveled down to Ed's steel arm amidst all the blood-wet bandages on his bare chest.

"So, what happened?" she said, pointing to the auto-mail prosthetic.

Edward's glint of gold in his eyes turned dull after that sentence. He sighed, finally starting. "We were trying to resurrect our mother years ago." As he continued, he opened and closed his artificial hand over and over, listening to the small creaking sound of every joint. "We had it all figured out. Everything seemed perfect. But… it wasn't perfect. It was far from perfect; it failed. My left leg was taken… and my brother's whole body was disintegrated."

"…and your arm?"

Ed smiled grimly. "I had to sacrifice my arm for any small part of him that was left, and all I got was his soul. We knew we were trying to play God. But we still took that risk to see our beautiful and kind mother, and now look at us. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. This_ is_, after all, what happens when you commit the greatest sin."

Nothing but silence followed. Sakura was speechless, trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation. Before she could even twitch her lips to say something, Ed added, "You seem to like that Sasuke guy over there, right?" Sakura's face turned a pink scarlet. This seemed a rather random question to ask, let alone embarrassing. Maybe if she didn't say anything (_There goes that "Hinata" disposition again,_ she thought)… no, he'd already figured it out anyways.

"Yeah, I do… but… Sasuke-kun never liked me back. He's always so cold an indifferent to me; it feels as though I'll never be able to love him truly. I don't know why, but I still do have feelings for him despite his emptiness. In fact, the only one who's shown me any sincerity, after all these years… were Naruto… and you." She wished now that she never said that last part. Her increased blush was evidence of that. In reply, Edward's face now started to turn bright pink, too. They both looked down to the ground, before staring into each other's eyes again. Edward leaned. Their faces were inches away. Her heart was pounding. This was it; the make-out point. Her lips were about to-

"Hey Ed, I got some more fish we could fry for—" Al stopped in his tracks, shocked as to what was about to happen. His brother and Sakura was about to kiss! If he had his normal body, he'd start to grin devilishly.

"So, big brother," he cooed, playing at the word "big". "Since when did you want a girlfriend of all people? Edward snapped, his face a deep shade of red.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! We were just talking like regular friends, right, Sakura!"

"Then why were you leaning? You know you wanted to kiss her," Al said, rubbing in the fact even more.

"I WASN'T GONNA KISS HER! AND SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" At that particular moment, Edward was having so much emotional stress that his wounds reopened. He fell to the ground mumbling, "Hi, mom. Why are you at that bright tunnel at the end?" Al instantly became over worried about the situation. Sakura agreed to herself to never speak of this to anyone again as she put her medic-nin training to use to close up Edward's wounds. Eventually, she too became tired and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-13 (Waah!).

Chapter 7: Assault

Morning approached fast. The sun's rays shined down upon the land known as _Kirigakure_- the Hidden Village of the Mist. A small, hastily-built fortress was the center piece of the sleepy town. Walls of concrete surrounded it, preventing any force of _ronin_ (masterless samurai) or bandits from entering. Beyond that, the actual castle didn't look very well made. Walls were left half-constructed. The roof was simply two rows of randomly placed planks of wood crisscrossing each other. Chunks of stone were partially sculpted, vaguely depicting mighty dragons.

On the thin roof of the first floor stood ten Mist ninjas, each wearing the identical dark masks, bluish-gray coats, and black pants. None of them moved even an inch. They were about as still as the deformed statues still unfinished. Then, with inhumane unity, they turned their heads at the northwest wall. Everything seemed perfectly fine to the average man. Then, a large red frog jumped from the concrete wall and lunged at the ninja. They scattered in different directions, quickly throwing shuriken and kunai at the large frog. To their surprise, the amphibian deflected them all with an oversized kunai knife and slapped three shinobi unconscious with its large tongue. It soon disposed of four more with its large shuriken, deep slashes gushing blood. Amidst all the chaos and screams of terror, four teenagers and a large suit of armor ran through a crevice in one of the incomplete walls.

Naruto initiated the battle inside the castle by forming his trademark seal and summoning seven clones to take out the guards. The fight took only a few seconds as the men plopped to the ground unconscious. Inside the next room, all the shinobi clones splashed out of existence the minute they were simultaneously struck by Sasuke's flying shuriken. Edward knocked out the ninja on the right while the rest fled for their lives when the profile known as Alphonse charged up to them ("Sometimes it's good to be a big suit of armor," Al thought to himself). Sakura crashed through a sliding door, unleashing a barrage of kunai towards the next set of victims. Soon, the next floor was taken in this fashion.

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"It seems those brats are more capable than we thought."

"When shall we attack?"

"Soon, my ambitious chuunin. Soon."

"Do not stray from the plan."

"Only if you do not harm him. Remember, he is the reason for this operation. Jei, prepare to fight."

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama."

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"Looks like the third floor is all that's left," Edward said, removing his red coat and white gloves.

"So what are we waiting for! Let's go kick that bastard's ass!" Naruto practically screamed for the whole world to know.

Sakura punched Naruto in the head. "Naruto! We're not supposed to be so loud! Geez, do you realize you could get killed with that loud mouth of yours?"

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Note: Itachi was in this conversation with Orochimaru and Jei, btw.


	8. Chapter 8

Apologies for not being able to update as soon as I promised. I was rather busy with some school club called Speech and Debate. I hope this chapter will be satisfactory.

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly I only own a copy of books 1-13 (Wah!).

Chapter 8: A Grueling Battle

The overwhelming stench of blood filled the darkened room in which Team 7 and the Elric Brothers were in. Old, dried-up blood literally caked the floor where numerous shinobi were mercilessly slaughtered, their rotting bodies nailed to one side of the room. On the wall facing them stood a balcony several feet from the floor. The wood was splintered and not very well built to withstand the weight of a human. How could one such as Orochimaru- or anyone for that matter- live in such a dismal hell pit?

Sasuke thought nothing of the scene and focused more on the battle that was soon to come. What exactly did Orochimaru want this time? This operation of his seemed too vast just to capture him again. Did he want someone else from the group? Perhaps he wanted all of them? And when he reached his target what would he do with them? A thousand more questions invaded his mind. His hands unconsciously gripped into fists, knuckles turning white.

His thoughts abruptly came to a halt when a sheet of thick mist enveloped the room. The three chuunins pulled out a kunai knife each and Edward proceeded to transmuting his right arm into a gauntlet wrist blade. Then came the attack.

Jei thrusted his fist into the spot where Naruto was standing before. A crater a meter in diameter was created in an earth-shattering crash. Sasuke threw his foot at Jei's face. All he found was thin air. The mist ninja landed ten feet behind the group of teenagers. Naruto formed his favorite seal, forming seven Naruto clones and charged. Jei knew he couldn't make the same mistake of sparing the original again. Sensing for the one with the original chakra core, he pulled out Kusanagi and decapitated the original… which disappeared in a puff of smoke. He switched at the last second. He used his wrist to block Naruto's oncoming fist. Jei kicked the blond into the air and started forming seals. When he finished, he thrusted his open hand to Naruto's chest. A large prison of ice encased him, plummeting to the ground. Sasuke just grinned as the ice prison shattered. In place of a Naruto clone was an explosion note. It burst into a flower of flames, which took the form of a dragon. The flaming beast collided onto its target. When the smoke cleared, a solid ice shield protected the ice ninja. Ed and Al were on him in a split second.

Breaking the shield with ease, Al punched into Jei's sword while crouching down and sweeping his feet, tripping Jei. Ed slashed at the mist-nin. Jei blocked the oncoming wrist blade, kicking Edward into the air. Sakura, who was right behind Ed, ducked and threw several shuriken at their opponent. The Mist-nin deflected them with ease. That was when the Naruto clones popped into existence where the shuriken used to be. He started to look worried, desperately cutting and slashing all the Naruto clones. It should be time he used… it. He jumped back, pulling his mask down to his chin, revealing his grimacing mouth. He instantly went through the hand seals needed. At last he was finished, and just in time for a charging Sasuke, chidori in his hand. Jei finished with the sign of the rooster, and a flood of water gushed from his gaping mouth, forming into the shape of a dragon. The initial blast hit Sasuke at point blank range. The dragon changed course and now headed towards the others, the raven hair still in its jaws. An explosion of water expanded rapidly as it hit its target. As the flood of water receded, it revealed a globe of solid concrete. The rock shield suddenly dissipated the two shinobi and the Elric brothers safe from harm. The attack didn't stop there.

Before Sakura could move towards Sasuke's unconscious body, twelve clones of Jei rose from the water surrounding them. This was going to be a living hell.

While all of this happened, Itachi watched from the shadows. When he saw Sasuke's body, he immediately snatched it and disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

I apologize for not updating ASAP. This chapterwill be much more exciting I hope.

Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Naruto, but sadly, I only own episodes 1-76 and books 1-14 (Waah!).

Chapter 9: Betrayal

Outside of the fort, Itachi gently laid down his unconscious brother. _At least this will be easier than planned,_ he thought, looking back at the tower with calm eyes.

All twelve Jei's leaped into the air at once at the squad of four, their eyes glinting maliciously. Naruto pulled out kunai knives and threw them at four of the clones. The clones disappeared before the knives hit their mark. They reappeared in the center of the group, kicking a member each into the air. Two clones pulled out their Kusanagi and sliced off all of Al's limbs and head, making sure he wouldn't be able to join the fight. The suit of armor clambered to the ground. Ed was quick enough to dispose of two clones with his wrist blade. One clone found his mark, unfortunately, slashing at Ed's right leg. Ed screamed in pain as he fell over, desperately trying to turn around and attack the clone. Blood started to escape from his wound and soaked the fabric of his pants. He looked up and saw Naruto trying to fight seven clones at once with his clones. For the blond ninja, it was a losing battle.

Sakura whipped out shuriken and flung them at a clone, which easily deflected them with his kunai. Two other Jei's kicked the kunoichi in the stomach and the back of the neck, effectively knocking her down to the floor. She strained to keep her eyes open as all three ninjas looked down on her, chuckling to themselves. Sakura only grinned. Two shuriken she secretly threw cut a wire near a wall. Hundreds of kunai and needles rained down on the clones, reducing them into water. The kunoichi strained to get up, but failed, the pain to unbearable to stand. But she knew she had to try her hardest in order to help Naruto, Edward, and Alphonse, who were in trouble. She tried once again, but stopped as a shadow loomed over her. Jei started to form a grin under his mask, slowly sliding Kusanagi out of its scabbard. Taking his time, he raised the sword to maximum height, ready to take out all of his frustration on Sakura.

The mist-nin's execution was interrupted by Naruto's kick to the head. The katana clattered across the ground. Jei quickly got on his feet again to gain control of the battle once more. He released hand signs and slammed his open hands to the ground. Large ice spikes shot up from the floor, one after the other, towards the blond Chuunin. Naruto repeatedly jumped from the spot he was standing to avoid the spikes. As he was doing this, he once again made his trademark seal, forming three clones, which charged at Jei. The mist-nin stood up and jumped at the clones, pulling out shuriken to target them. He threw the stars, destroying the clones. In back of those clones were three kunai. He deflected them with ease using his own knife. Then realizing what happened, he turned around to face three Naruto clones attacking him. Each clone kicked his face, stomach, and chest, propelling him into the wall. Jei slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Orochimaru stood over Sasuke's unconscious body, looking very pleased. He turned his head to face Itachi, who was crouched on the ground, bowing. The sounds of the battle still in progress rang out faintly from the fortress. The sun up in the sky shone down upon the land.

Orochimaru chuckled to himself. "Very excellent, Itachi. You have done very well, indeed."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama," said Itachi. Itachi was pleased as well. He was finally done posturing as the Snake ninja's servant. As soon as Orochimaru-"sama" activated the jutsu to take over Sasuke's body, Itachi would then dispose of both bodies, and claim himself Leader of the Sound ninja. It was what he had in mind after all this time. So far, everything was according to plan…

"Now, as for payment," He resumed his attention to his "Lord", his eyes locked onto Orochimaru's. The Sound ninja pulled out a poison needle and shoved it into the Uchiha's throat. He uttered a pained noise, his eyes wide and shocked. Had he planned against him as well! "I know you wanted to assassinate me as soon as I took over Sasuke's body. Don't think you can hide away a killing intent, Uchiha. Besides, now that my plan is complete, I have no further use for you anymore." He pushed the needle inward. Itachi coughed up blood as he fell to his knees. As he looked up into those reptilian eyes, he fell to the floor, dead. A pool of blood oozed out of his gaping mouth.

The Sound ninja then focused his attention on the younger Uchiha. He made a few hand signs and slammed his palm on the seal that surrounded his curse. Sasuke's body cringed in pain as the seal faded, then the mark of the curse faded as well. He bit his thumb and started to paint an elaborate design on Sasuke's body and himself. After his finished, he engaged in a string of hand signs and slammed both his hands onto Sasuke's body. A flash of violet light engulfed the two.


End file.
